People's Militia
The People's Militia of Libya, commonly known simply as the People's Militia, was a grassroots opposition group and later anti-government paramilitary active in the Platonic Republic from 2105–2106. Founded by Productive Caste member Abu al-Fadl Abdulrashid under left-leaning Islamist principles, it began open campaigns for Libyan independence shortly following Operation Eunomia in 2105. Initially non-violent, Athens' attempts to destroy the organization spurred its militarization, and following Abdulrashid's exile to the United Arab Republic, practical control passed to his deputy Usman Almasi, who escalated violence against the Greek régime. Almasi's leadership provoked an ideological split and denouncement by Abdulrashid himself, and by the onset of the "Red Spring" in 2106, infighting had eroded the movement's political credibility. Background Due to conflicting information in game updates, it is unclear whether the People's Militia was founded after the like-named army of the short-lived Thessalonian Republic, or if it was the same organization. It began public campaigns for Libyan independence shortly following the bloody crackdown on the Thessalonians in Fall 2105, and many of the surviving exiles joined the Militia. The movement advocated the abolition of the caste system and drew widespread support from the working class. While it did not immediately pursue seditious activities, its manifesto spoke of open revolution against the Greek government and Athens immediately moved to stamp it out, founding a dedicated special forces unit to hunt down and decapitate the Militia's leadership, an objective it utterly failed to achieve. Exile of Abdulrashid and rise of Almasi As Athens moved toward a larger-scale repeat of the Thessalonian disaster, neighbour countries worried that Greece was poised to ignite a full-scale civil war that would destabilize the region. In the winter, separate bids were made by the United Arab Republic, New Rhodesia and Indonesia to negotiate a peace settlement to defuse tensions; only Jerusalem was able to foster a dialogue. In exchange for the UAR accepting Abdulrashid into its custody, Athens agreed to call off its crackdown, grant Thessalonica autonomous status, and repatriate the refugees at state expense. While Abdulrashid continued correspondence from Egypt, practical control of the Militia was assumed by his deputy and military commander Usman Almasi, who opted to engage in aggressive guerrilla warfare in contempt of the peace agreement. Almasi also rapidly expanded the scope of the Militia's mission beyond Libya, stating its intention to establish a socialist commonwealth across the Greek territories, and repeatedly antagonized Rome after it briefly instigated an embargo against the UAR as part of the peace settlement over Operation Devil-Fish. Schism Almasi's cavalier overreach, as well as his repeated attempts to infer an informal alliance with the UAR, were a source of vexation for Jerusalem, and to distance itself from the rising tide of extremism it released an official report in early 2106 that implicated the Militia in the attempted assassination of General Xylon Toto the season previous. Abdulrashid, who was by now indoctrinated into Operation Ansar, denounced Almasi for expanding the conflict "beyond acceptable boundaries" and accused him of ideological betrayal, charging that Almasi was devoted only to socialist radicalism and paid lip service to the ummah. When the Greek government imploded that summer, Abdulrashid pledged his support to the Amjad–El-Amin transitional government and ordered Militia loyalists to stand down, effectively disavowing Almasi and his followers; concurrently, the UAR declared the splinter cell a terrorist organization. Almasi retaliated by attempting to discredit Abdulrashid's leadership, portraying him as a covert dictator and collaborator with Athens. This demonization campaign failed to gain public traction, and only served to further the Almasi cell's image as radical extremists. Anti-Soviet resistance Almasi had initially welcomed Soviet intervention in Greece, but when his requests to install the Militia as the new government were denied, relations quickly soured. Almasi demanded that the Russian puppet government cede to a democratically-elected legislature; Moscow contended that the civil war had decapitated the Greek leadership and the political environment was too unstable for immediate elections. Almasi accused the Soviets of ulterior motives; Moscow responded with census data that suggested overall favourable approval to the occupation. The Militia then petitioned the United Nations, leading to an international round table and a tentative multilateral peacekeeping plan, although final adoption was repeatedly hung up by Almasi's refusal to disarm. Dissolution Almasi eventually conceded defeat, and in late summer the cell capitulated to Russian authorities. Inas El-Ghazzaway, the Militia's chief media director, avoided detention and fled the country, emerging months later in Maputo, where she attempted to kill Toto again, but was intercepted by Ian Wishart. After Athens' collapse, the UAR released Abdulrashid, who returned to Benghazi. With the de jure recognition of Libyan independence in Fall 2106, the Militia 'loyalists' are presumed to have disbanded. Category:Paramilitary organizations Category:Factions in IOT14